A contingent of Turkish ships has set sail for the Gaza Strip in order to break the blockade of the region and deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans.
The three cargo vessels left Istanbul on Saturday to join an international fleet organized by the human rights organization, Free Gaza Movement.
The seaport was overwhelmed by thousands of well-wishers, who had come to show their support for the people of Gaza, Press TV correspondent Hassan Ghani reported.
Before departing, the organizers from different countries, including: Greece, Ireland and Sweden, outlined their reasons for joining the project and warned Israel not to interfere with the humanitarian act.
"Even if Israel stops us, if we have to swim, we will swim to Gaza," said Noorazman Shamsuddin, one of the organizers.
The Israeli navy, which has prevented many ships from entering the coastal region, has told the aid vessels not to come to the Gaza Strip.
The Free Gaza Movement is coordinating with numerous pro-Palestinian groups in the Freedom Flotilla project. The nine-vessel flotilla is set to cast anchor at the docks of Gaza on Thursday.
The Freedom Flotilla convoy is carrying 5,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment, and school supplies, as well as around 600 people from 40 countries.
Since 2007, the siege of Gaza has deprived 1.5 million Palestinians of fuel, food, and other basic necessities.
Like the other families gathered at the İHH building trying to obtain news from their relatives on the ship, Akdeniz said she was shocked by the attacks and that she was worried and crying.
“I did not expect that much cruelty. My husband even did not have a pocket knife on him,” she said. “It was a strict rule for all of them not to have anything that might be used as a weapon. But Israel was afraid of a few civilian people.”
Still, the Israelis claim that the first Israeli soldiers to enter the ship were attacked with knives and clubs ... and there is video evidence to support the claim.
(BTW, I am not saying that the Israeli action was justified - neither the way they entered the ship in the first place, nor the force with which they reacted to being attacked. But the initial physical attacks appear to have come from those on the ship ... )
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
Of course people on the ship wouldn't wait soldiers with the roses in their hands...... because they have told them that they are going to help people and soldiers had said that they'll attack....
We wish soldiers would got on the ship at least with the guns which has bluff... but they have used real bullet to those people who have just sticks....
If the merciful God weighs me with these guilts The scale will break down in the place of judgments Works (Mesihi)
Re: Israeli forces attack aid Gaza aid flotilla, kill activists
format_quote Originally Posted by An33za
@ brother aadil77:
Israel just needs an excuse, nothing else! Even if you would have gone there empty handed, Israel would have given the excuse that "why you even carried your limbs; you can attack us with your hands and feet, so let us tear them apart from you!!! "
Allah will deal with that filth and we'll get the last laugh
Quran 83:34-83:36 But on this Day the Believers will laugh at the Unbelievers, On high couches, gazing. Are not the disbelievers paid for what they used to do?
Last edited by aadil77; 05-31-2010 at 06:12 PM.
He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers. [Quran {33:43}] www.QuranicAudio.com www.Quran.com
Of course people on the ship wouldn't wait soldiers with the roses in their hands...... because they have told them that they are going to help people and soldiers had said that they'll attack....
We wish soldiers would got on the ship at least with the guns which has bluff... but they have used real bullet to those people who have just sticks....
I agree that the reaction of the Israeli forces was totally disproportionate to the threat they encountered from the occupants of the ship.
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
Still, the Israelis claim that the first Israeli soldiers to enter the ship were attacked with knives and clubs ... and there is video evidence to support the claim.
(BTW, I am not saying that the Israeli action was justified - neither the way they entered the ship in the first place, nor the force with which they reacted to being attacked. But the initial physical attacks appear to have come from those on the ship ... )
That ship was in international waters not in Israeli waters
so i believe people on the ship has a right to attack as armed men of Israel army jumped on the ship
for what they went on the ship ??
Israeli army just acted like Pirates
That people would call themselves Israel supporters or Palestinian supporters bothers me a little. Tribalism helps nobody.
That westerners love to hide their heads in the sands and ignore the reality that the western governments especially the US totally support the terrorist state of Israel does not surprise me. Hypocrisy helps no one.
That ship was in international waters not in Israeli waters
so i believe people on the ship has a right to attack as armed men of Israel army jumped on the ship
for what they went on the ship ??
Israeli army just acted like Pirates
That's interesting. I wasn't aware of that. If that's the case, it certainly puts the actions of the Israelis in an even worse light!
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
Still, the Israelis claim that the first Israeli soldiers to enter the ship were attacked with knives and clubs ... and there is video evidence to support the claim.
(BTW, I am not saying that the Israeli action was justified - neither the way they entered the ship in the first place, nor the force with which they reacted to being attacked. But the initial physical attacks appear to have come from those on the ship ... )
If a robber enters your house forcefully carrying guns and clearly intend to incapacitate you, would you:
a. serve him tea and biscuits
or
b. defend yourself and attack him with whatever weapon you have at hand?
A raid in self defense ?? what he is talking about
The Ship was in International Waters
The people on board were in due right to attack the pirates (Israeli Army)
uncle ive long since held the belief that the general population actually has no intelectual capacity of its own and will follow based on ignorance quite happily.
Re: Israeli forces attack aid Gaza aid flotilla, kill activists
format_quote Originally Posted by aadil77
Allah will deal with that filth and we'll get the last laugh
Quran 83:34-83:36 But on this Day the Believers will laugh at the Unbelievers, On high couches, gazing. Are not the disbelievers paid for what they used to do?
Actually , Allah will deal with them here on earth itself before Judgement days when we Muslims will give these Jews another a holocaust which they so rightfully deserve
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews will hide themselves behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say: Muslim, the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the Gharqad tree will not say this, for it is the tree of the Jews. Hadith number in Sahih Muslim [Arabic only]: 5203
When truth is hurled at falsehood , falsehood perishes. because falsehood by its nature is bound to perish [21:18- Holy quran]
I agree that the reaction of the Israeli forces was totally disproportionate to the threat they encountered from the occupants of the ship.
According to this video it seemed to be pretty bad for the IDF soldiers. Mob of guys beating soldiers as they board one by one, one of them is even thrown overboard or to a lower deck.
I know its Israeli video by idfnadesk but parts of it has been seen on different angles on videos recorded by people on board the freedom flotilla, like on the video on the following link starting around 30 seconds when they attack the IDF members coming from up.
Im not entirely sure I can judge it so easily what would have been appropriate response to such violence but I can understand why overwhelmed soldiers could open fire in such situation.
format_quote Originally Posted by glo
That's interesting. I wasn't aware of that. If that's the case, it certainly puts the actions of the Israelis in an even worse light!
According to international humanitarian law it doesnt seem to. Courtesy of Red Cross.
10. Subject to other applicable rules of the law of armed conflict at sea contained in this document or elsewhere, hostile actions by naval forces may be conducted in, on or over:
(a) the territorial sea and internal waters, the land territories, the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and, where applicable, the archipelagic waters, of belligerent States;
(b) the high seas; and
(c) subject to paragraphs 34 and 35, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of neutral States.
First quote is to show that this law is valid in the high seas aka international waters
67. Merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral States may not be attacked unless they:
(a) are believed on reasonable grounds to be carrying contraband or breaching a blockade, and after prior warning they intentionally and clearly refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture;
The people on the flotilla clearly declared they were going to go to and later journeyed towards and approached the Gaza strip. I dont think its unreasonable for Israel to believe that they are going to breach the blockade.
Re: Israeli forces attack aid Gaza aid flotilla, kill activists
format_quote Originally Posted by Airforce
Actually , Allah will deal with them here on earth itself before Judgement days when we Muslims will give these Jews another a holocaust which they so rightfully deserve
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews will hide themselves behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say: Muslim, the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the Gharqad tree will not say this, for it is the tree of the Jews. Hadith number in Sahih Muslim [Arabic only]: 5203
May Allah make it come true very soon! Ameen. I am just annoyed that BBC and CNN reports are still confirming 9 deaths.
Israeli PM 'regrets' deaths as troops storm aid ships
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed regret after at least nine people died when troops stormed ships trying to break the Gaza blockade.
But he said soldiers had been defending themselves after they were "clubbed, beaten and stabbed".
Pro-Palestinian campaigners say the soldiers opened fire unprovoked when they landed on the aid-carrying ships.
There has been international condemnation of the loss of life, and the UN is holding an emergency session.
As the meeting of the UN Security Council got under way in New York, diplomats said the draft text of a resolution called for condemnation of the operation, the immediate release of the impounded ships and for an international inquiry.
Mr Netanyahu cut short a visit to Canada to deal with the growing crisis and cancelled a scheduled meeting in Washington with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
'Defend themselves'
Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip after the Islamist movement Hamas took power there in 2007.
The six-ship convoy had set out to carry 10,000 tonnes of aid from Cyprus to Gaza, despite repeated Israeli warnings that it would not be allowed to reach the territory.
In a statement, Mr Netanyahu defended the Israeli operation, saying troops were attacked when they landed on the largest of the six ships in the flotilla.
"They were mobbed. They were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed," he said.
"There was even a report of gunfire and our soldiers had to defend themselves, defend their lives or they would have been killed.
"Regrettably, in this exchange... people died. We regret this loss of life. We regret any of the violence."
Organisers of the convoy have strongly denied the Israeli account.
Contact with activists on the ships was lost after the raids and no first-hand accounts from them have yet emerged.
Arafat Shoukri, of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) which helped organise the convoy, said those on board one ship had told them by telephone that Israeli helicopters had arrived.
"Then we started to hear screams, shouting, shooting everywhere," he said. "We heard some of them shouting 'We are raising the white flag, stop shooting at us'."
He said Israeli claims that activists had pistols and other weapons were "cheap propaganda".
Audrey Bomse, also of the FGM, told the BBC that the activists were "not going to pose any violent resistance".
The flotilla left the coast of Cyprus on Sunday and had been due to arrive in Gaza on Monday.
Reports say troops boarded the ship about 40 miles (64 km) out to sea in international waters.
Organisers of the flotilla said at least 30 people were wounded in the incident. Israel says 10 of its soldiers were injured, one seriously.
There has been widespread condemnation of the violence, with several countries summoning their Israeli ambassadors.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked" and called for a "full investigation" into what happened.
The White House said the US "deeply regrets the loss of life" and was "currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy".
There was a particularly strong response from Turkey, where many of the activists on the ships are from.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of state terrorism and violation of international law.
In Istanbul, thousands of protesters took part in an angry demonstration against Israel.
Turkey was Israel's closest Muslim ally but relations have deteriorated in recent years.
Greece has withdrawn from joint military exercises with Israel in protest at the raid on the flotilla.
The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he condemned "the disproportionate use of force", while UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said there was "a clear need for Israel to act with restraint and in line with international obligations".
Israel has escorted the ships to the port of Ashdod and says it will deport the passengers from there.
Israel says it allows about 15,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid into Gaza every week.
But the UN says this is less than a quarter of what is needed.
Then how can you avoid the punishment, if you disbelieve, on a Day that will make the children grey-headed?
Sura Al-Muzzammil 73:17
Re: Israeli forces attack aid Gaza aid flotilla, kill activists
I can't believe what I am hearing... These Pigs have gone so low to the point where they would beat up Al Jazeera reporter?
Three simple rules in life:
1) If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it
2) If you don't ask, the answer will always be no.
3) If you do not step forward, you'll always be in the same place
Re: Israeli forces attack aid Gaza aid flotilla, kill activists
format_quote Originally Posted by Nájlá
I can't believe what I am hearing... These Pigs have gone so low to the point where they would beat up Al Jazeera reporter?
Seems like this is new for you.
Unfortunately they've stooped that low many times before.
Israel has killed in the past cameramen, reporters, civilians, peace activists, in fact anyone within firing/bulldozing range that tries to portray the truth of their atrocities.
Stunningly beautiful adhaan from the Dome of the Rock in Masjid ul Aqsa Download (right click and choose "save target/link as").
This is a clear message for mankind in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that those of understanding may take heed (14:52)
Indeed Allah knows, and you know not (16: 74, part)
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